FOUR people have been killed and 44 others seriously injured on Scotland’s roads because of potholes.

Figures revealed by the Daily Record today show that over the past five years 502 crashes were caused by drivers hitting orswerving to avoid craters. Critics including the RAC said lives are being put at risk by spending cuts.

Scotland’s pothole problem has been laid bare by freedom of information requests we submitted.

In total, 189 people were injured in crashes caused by the road surface.

The shocking toll may be far higher. Three of the eight former police forces refused our request and another provided incomplete data.

Of those who responded, ­Strathclyde Police reported 345 crashes over just three years. There were 150 injuries, 28 of them serious. Three people were killed.

Central Police saw 20 crashes over five years, including one fatal crash in 2011 in the Stirling area.

Nine people were injured, five of them seriously.

Lothian and Borders Police reported 29 crashes between 2008 and 2012 but did not provide details of injuries.

There were 44 pothole-related accidents in Tayside, causing six injuries, two of them serious.

In Grampian, 24 people were hurt in 64 crashes, nine of them seriously.